Mongolia

The Land

Mongolia is known as the land of the blue sky, and it certainly lives up to its reputation.

The Parliament Building

By Asian standards, democracy seems to be working well here. The Darth Vader looking

statue in the center in none other than the national hero Genghis Kahn.

Traditional Transport

Horses remain the best way of herding domestic animals on the steppes.

Mongolian Howard Johnson's

A brightly decorated restaurant is a welcome site after a long journey across the steppes.

Shopping

There is no limit to opportunities for buying trinkets.

Medieval Armor

This was on display in a reconstructed thirteenth century ger.

Meat

Meat is abundant and delicious. It comes from sheep, goats, cows, yaks, horses and

camels. Also, I understand that marmot is quite delicious, but I didn't get a chance

to try  it.

Sand Dunes

We didn't make it to the Gobi Desert, but we did see sand dunes in central Mongolia.

I don't know what animal provided these bones, but it was pretty big.

What's for Dinner?

I saw these skewers of meat on a cow dung barbeque in a ger in the reconstructed

thirteenth century village. It is not clear whether modern people cook like this.

Anyway, I was not offered a taste.

More Conventional Fare

If you like meat, Mongolia is a wonderful place to eat. However, vegetarians have been

known to complain about the cuisine.

 China

On the way back home we stopped in Beijing for a day.